Samson’s Diary
by
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"Momma, Momma," the eerie pleas bellowed from the walls within, mourners closing their umbrellas as thy passed through the doors of the funeral home on this rainy Friday afternoon, July 17, 1987. One by one, they hung their coats, then moving ever closer to the sounds of grief, as they entered the viewing room to pay their last respects to Mary Hayward. They would be ill prepared for the wrenching spectacle they were about to witness, the solemn gathering attended by a large contingent of Summerville, a small town in Dorchester County, in which the Haywards live.
"Momma," the boy screamed, then tossing aside his fathers grasp, as his six-foot-nine frame fell limply to the cushioned kneel rest below.
"Please come back Momma. Please come back. I love you Momma, don't leave me," the grieving ten year old pleaded, wrapping one arm around her body, stroking her face gently with the other, several mourners surrendering to the moment.
"Samson, she's gone," the father beseeched the one hundred seventy-five pound gentle giant, pulling him from his mothers side.
"No! No! She can't be gone! Momma promised she would never leave me, she promised," the boy shrieked, a female mourner screaming out "We're here for you Sampson, we're here for you son."
"She hasn't left you Samson, she'll always be by your side," his father said.
"Did you know that chimpanzees and man share ninety-nine percent identical genes? Somewhere, a long time ago, we unexpectedly diverged."
"That's very interesting, but what does that have to do with our son?" Mary asked the slightly graying doctor... reflecting on the strange occurrence when visiting the Bronx Zoo on her honeymoon. A silver back primate was reaching for a banana between the bars of the enclosure, but it was just outside his reach. Mary, foolishly climbed over the spectator guard rail and handed the fruit to the primate called Harry. The silver back, extended his finger to Mary, who accommodated the gesture, their eyes fixated upon one another, the primate then extending his arm and caressing her hand... and eerie smile followed... Mary retreated to a trans like state... an energy like no other she'd ever experienced pulsated throughout her body... the silver back withdrew to his cage... then turning to Mary... placing his hand to his heart.
"Mary, are you okay?" Asked her husband, then shaking his head at the foolishness of her boldness.
"I'm fine Sam... but the strangest experience of my life just occurred. It was like... I was suddenly connected to the beast."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't explain it Sam. I just know something happened between me and him... like he was... "within me."
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About the Book
In an effort to protect her child from the harsh realities of her impending death, Mary pours her heart into a diary, her legacy to her challenged ten-year-old son, Samson. After her passing, the grief-stricken child writes longingly to his lost momma, in the hopes that his fervent words might reach her in the great beyond.
Born with extraordinary powers found only in the primate world, he is a mystery to the medical world. His doctors know of a progressive tumor on his thyroid, but even that can’t explain his gigantism. At ten, he is 6’9” and weighs 175 pounds. Nora, his devoted nanny, loves him as if he was her own flesh and blood, and she does her best to encourage the boy. When his mental abilities also begin to grow beyond expectations, only his father believes that it is the work of Mary, his dead wife.
At sixteen, 7’6”, and 275 pounds, he’s on the verge of harnessing his true potential. Soon, he’s on his way to glory in professional sports and folk-hero status, but there’s a powerful emptiness to his life. Tragedy follows him everywhere. He continues to write to his momma, desperate to know why he keeps losing the ones he loves. At nineteen, undaunted by his doctor’s fears that physical exertion will kill him, he experiences a mystical transformation, with his momma and a phalanx of angels to guide him. When his body betrays him, can they—or should they—save him?
About the Author
Bob Arnone, the author of Deadly Imposter, Pardon My Gender, and Kill a Killer, grew up on Manhattan’s east side. He has a bachelor’s (1965) and master’s degree (1968) from St. John’s University. He and his wife, Patricia, have five children and twelve grandchildren and live in Commack, Long Island.